Chapter Text
Dominik didn’t care about much. He didn’t care about anything if he was being honest.
He had always been like that, floating through life, doing just enough to keep a roof over his head and gas in his shitty Camry that ran eighty percent of the time. It was enough for him. He had stopped expecting much from life a long time ago. As long as he had a bed to sleep in and weed to smoke, he didn’t complain.
Well unless he was at work, like now, leaned against the counter bored out of his mind. He was half listening to his best friend, a term he used very loosely, Austin, rambling about some girl he saw in the gym that morning.
Austin was a meathead through and through, arrogant as hell and thought he was God’s gift to women. Women who, majority of the time, barely gave him the time of day once he actually opened his mouth.
“...she said she would give me her number if I just left her alone.” He explained, making Dominik snort.
“So you harassed her?” He smirked.
“ No. ” Austin defended. “It’s called networking man, can’t let a little fear of rejection keep you from trying.” He shrugged. “And now I got her number!....I think she blocked me though because I tried to text her and it keeps saying not delivered.”
Dominik just shook his head as his eyes darted over to the sound of the sliding doors opening, alerting him that a customer was coming in.
“Nose goes!” Dominik called out, instantly going to touch his nose as Austin sucked his teeth.
“Bitch,” He muttered under his breath. “Hello! Welcome to Electronic Pros, how can I–”
Austin was cut off as the girl that entered the store just simply waved him off. “Just looking.” She said, not even bothering to look up at him as she made her way towards the back of the store.
“Rude.”
“Hey at least she actually acknowledged your existence, that’s rare.”
“True. Did you see her? She was hot as hell!”
Dominik shrugged, turning his attention to pick with the receipt printer, pushing the button to make some come out just for the hell of it. “Nah, wasn’t looking.”
Austin let out an exasperated sigh. “Bro you’re never looking!” He complained, making Dominik shrug again.
Dominik didn’t care about much, girls and relationships included. Being in a relationship for over a decade since he was a teenager and getting dumped would do that to you though. He had been single for over six months now and as much as he would never admit it, he was still trying to get used to it.
Still getting accustomed to living alone, getting accustomed to never having to debate over what to eat for dinner, getting accustomed to waking up in bed with the other side ice cold to the point that he preferred to pass out on the couch instead more often than not.
Shaking off the thought, Dominik looked up at Austin, now in desperate need for some free entertainment to distract himself. “Bet you can’t get her number.” He smirked.
Austin scoffed and cracked his knuckles. “Please, watch the master work.” He quickly trotted off from behind the counter and went straight in the girl’s direction.
Dominik just shook his head as he watched Austin approach the girl without a care in the world. Their backs were to him so he couldn’t tell what was being said, but it had barely been two minutes before Austin’s head jerked back with a scoff like he was offended and was turning right back on his heels with a scowl on his face, making Dominik laugh instantly.
“I take it that was a no?” Dominik smirked.
“ She’s mean as fuck .” He frowned. “And she threatened me.”
Dominik couldn’t even help the snort he let out watching Austin sulking. He was in a better mood already.
The girl approached him at the register not long after, Austin clearly trying to avoid making eye contact with her by suddenly becoming deeply invested on the planogram in front of him as she placed two different HDMI cords on the counter.
“Which one is better?” Dominik barely glanced up at her before pointing to the package on the right.
“That one.” He said simply. “The other one is way less expensive but with the quality, you’ll be back in a few months to replace it.”
The girl let out a small hum before sliding the one Dominik recommended forward. “Okay I’ll take it.”
Dominik grabbed the package and finally took a moment to look up at her, his movements suddenly coming to a halt.
She had jet black hair that fell just at her broad shoulders, a septum piercing and gauges in her ears, a mix of gold and silver necklaces adorning her chest and she wore a black tank top and biker shorts. But what stood out the most was her tattoos that she was covered in. They look like they told a story and Dominik found himself surprisingly curious as his eyes trailed over her.
She noticed. Of course she did, she was used to eyes on her but paid it no mind, not even looking up from her wallet as she thumbed through bills.
The way he cleared his throat as he scanned the HDMI cord finally caught her attention. And when she finally took him in, her hands stopped briefly.
She noticed his name tag first, “Dom” printed on the fading plastic, showing that he’s clearly been working here for a while. She almost couldn’t read it with the way his long, brown mullet cascaded over his front, well past his shoulders down to his chest. His tattooed arms were on full display under his uniform shirt and she could see one sticking out from his collar on his neck as well. He had a thick mustache that looked like his face hadn’t seen a razor in years and he smelled like weed with a hint of whatever cologne he was wearing. It made her smirk.
‘Dom’ looked like he didn’t give a shit about his job, or anything for that matter. He looked like bad decisions, indifference, and nonchalance all wrapped together…and she liked that. She liked it a lot actually.
It made her lean in, resting her palms on the counter as she stared at him. She could tell he was trying his hardest not to make eye contact with her, which only made her want to mess with him more.
“You shouldn’t let that guy talk to women, you know. You might end up with a lawsuit.” She muttered to him.
Dominik snorted and glanced over his shoulder at Austin who was only a few feet away, still trying to pretend like he wasn’t paying attention. “Yeah, tell me about it.” He placed her item in the bag before looking at the screen.
“Your total is–”
“You’re not going to try and ask me for my number too?” She suddenly asked, tilting her head slightly as she stared at him, catching Dominik completely off guard.
His brows furrowed and the genuine confusion on his face made her smirk.
“...wasn’t planning on it.” The girl let out a hum which just confused Dominik even more. What was her deal? Did he just make everything awkward? Was he supposed to say yes? And why was she looking at him like that?
The nervous word vomit started spilling from his mouth before he could even stop it and for once he found himself actually doing his sales pitch he never even bothered to offer customers to try and change the subject.
“We uh–have a lifetime warranty on these, if you’re interested. This one is just additional $15 bucks but if you–”
“You get commission on that?” She interrupted with her eyebrow raised.
Dominik stammered. “W-well uh, yeah but that’s not why–”
“I’ll take it.” She declared.
The girl looked around the store briefly before holding up a finger. “One sec.” She walked away and headed towards the headphones and speakers aisle.
Dominik stood in confusion, officially unable to stop watching her as she eventually sauntered back to the counter with a box of lavender colored noise canceling headphones that the store had just got in recently. They were $350 but she tossed the box onto the counter like it was nothing.
“Add these too, and include the warranty. Need some new ones for the gym.” She said plainly.
Dominik blinked. Twice.
The sound of the box hitting the counter should’ve been enough to jolt him back to life, but he stood there a beat too long, wondering if he’d somehow stumbled into a simulation.
He cleared his throat again, because apparently, that was his only defense mechanism now. “Sure,” He mumbled, scanning the barcode with a soft beep. Dominik could feel his hands clammy as he tried to discreetly wipe them on the front of his pants before adding the headphones to her bag as well.
Was she flirting with him? Is this how people flirted now, by buying ridiculously expensive headphones just to show off they could? Dominik had officially been out of the game too long, because if this was flirting, he would never be able to keep up.
What was he even thinking right now? There was no way a girl like her was flirting with somebody like him.
“Your total is $425.98.” The girl had shoved the money she was originally going to use back into her wallet by now and tapped her card against the machine, eyes still locked on Dominik who was trying to look anywhere but at her, and he was failing miserably.
She took her receipt and the bag from him with a smirk, tossing it over her tattooed shoulder.
“See you around, Dom. ” The girl said plainly before walking away towards the sliding doors.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Austin appeared at Dominik’s side.
“Dude!” He exclaimed with a shove. “You’re an idiot! That was the biggest fumble!” Austin was rubbing his temples like he was exasperated, making Dominik frown.
“What?”
“What do you mean what!?” Austin wanted to damn near to pull his hair out. “The hottest girl I’ve ever seen in my fucking life was just practically begging you to ask for her number, and you–you just stood there! ‘Uhhh wasn’t planning on it’” He mocked in an overdramatic, doofy voice.
Dominik rolled his eyes with a scoff. “She wasn’t even serious.” He mumbled.
She couldn’t have been, right?
“She probably has a degradation kink or some shit. Probably just wanted to embarrass me like she embarrassed you.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” Austin defended.
He definitely was.
“Plus girls like that don’t just casually ask you if you’re going to ask for their number. And she lined your pockets with that sale? She’s obsessed with you already.”
“You’re an idiot.” Dominik brushed off with a shake of his head, officially over this conversation as he walked away from the counter.
Austin wasted no time following right behind him, still scolding him.
“Nah, you’re the idiot. I’m out here putting in work and the heavens just drop a baddie into your lap and you fumble. Next time, you’re getting that number.”
Dominik just rolled his eyes, good thing he was probably never going to see her again anyway.
_______________________________
Rhea didn’t believe in fate. Well at least she didn’t until she stepped out of the gas station later that same night, way across town, pouring out another handful of tropical skittles before popping them into her mouth. She had opened the pack and ate half of them before she even made it to the register because of course she did.
As she sauntered carelessly towards her Jeep, she heard a grating voice call out.
“No fucking way , you stalking us?”
Rhea looked up to see that annoying guy from the electronics store earlier leaning out of the passenger side window, grinning at her like he just won the lottery.
Her eyes then found ‘Dom.’ He was leaned up against the back of a silver Camry that looked like it was older than him, which is probably was, beat up and looking like it was hanging on by a very thin thread. He was pumping gas with the same slow boredom he applied to literally everything, hooded eyes gazing out at absolutely nothing like there wasn’t a single thought going on in his head.
She raised an eyebrow as she strolled towards the car with the lazy confidence of someone who never rushed for anything. “Yeah. You caught me. Been tracking you since noon. Used a bloodhound and everything.”
Austin smirked. “I knew it, they always come back.”
Rhea let out an unimpressed snort. “God, your ego.” She said, shaking her head. “Must be exhausting carrying it around all day.”
“It is.” Austin agreed. “That and this big–”
“Dude!” Dominik called out with a grimace. “Do you ever chill?”
Austin ignored him, keeping his eyes on Rhea and she poured skittles into her mouth.
“Oooooo!,” He said, extending his hand out the window to her like he wanted some, making Rhea frown.
“ Absolutely not.”
“Whatever,” Austin scoffed while rolling his eyes. “You got plans tonight?” He asked, drumming his fingers on the frame of the open window. “We’re about to hit up a party. You should come. It'll be fun, or terrible. Hard to say.”
Rhea glanced at Dominik as he finally looked her way.
He didn’t say anything.
She didn’t either.
He was leaned up against the car, his mullet still wet, probably from a recent shower, a plain white tee clinging to his arms in a way that made the tattoos underneath stand out more. Sweat beaded along his neck right where his tattoo was.
She wanted to bite it.
“What kind of party?” Rhea asked Austin with her eyes still locked on Dominik.
Austin shrugged. “Couple of my gym buddies throwing down in this sick condo by the beach. Booze, bad decisions, maybe a fire dancer—I dunno. You should come.” He repeated. There was no way he was about to let this opportunity pass through Dominik’s fingers again , who was still making no attempts to even try and talk to her.
“Gross, there's more of you? They annoying like you too?” Rhea teased.
“Maybe.” Austin smirked.
Rhea let out a hum in consideration. “You two always invite random women you barely know to parties?” She asked, finishing off the rest of her candy and she dumped them into her mouth.
“Nah,” Austin said, unfazed. “Just the ones that scare me a little.”
That made her laugh. A real one, sharp and sudden like breaking glass and it made Dominik bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. She had that kind of laugh that made you want to figure out what else she found funny just to hear it again. It was piercing in a good way that made Dominik’s stomach flip.
She tried to lock eyes with him again but Dominik quickly looked away, clearing his throat and going to hang the nozzle back up.
“You don’t even know my name.” She reminded him. “I don’t even know your name.”
He let out a groan. “What’s in a name? I’m Austin, that’s Dominik blah blah blah, and you are…”
“Rhea.” She said simply, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
Rhea. So that was her name, Dominik thought to himself as he tried to remain uninterested in their conversation. It wasn’t like she was seriously considering Austin’s offer anyway, like she said, she barely even knew them.
“You coming Rhea ?” Austin pressed, still drumming on the side of the car. “I mean, unless you’re too cool for a little fun?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she studied Dominik.
He didn’t say anything, didn’t look at her, didn’t even shrug.
But he didn’t say no either, and that was enough.
“Fine,” She said, tossing the empty Skittles bag through the open window and into Austin’s lap.
Her eyes went back to Dominik who was standing awkwardly by the driver’s door, scratching the back of his neck.
“So am I following you or….” Rhea trailed off, just trying to get him to speak to her.
“Uh y-yeah. That’s cool.”
Rhea smirked in amusement but gave a small nod and started walking back towards her purple Jeep Wrangler that was completely decked out with black and lime green decals, back bumper covered in band and bumper stickers.
“Damnnnnn,” Austin called out, fully leaning himself out of the window to get a better look. “That’s you?”
“Yup!” Rhea beamed proudly, stretching her arms out and resting her head and outstretched limbs against the hood like she was giving it a hug. “This is my baby.”
Dominik watched her, a faint smile tugging on his lips as he got back behind the wheel of his own car.
Austin leaned over against the center console and looked at Dominik as Rhea hopped in her Jeep and started the engine. “ Dude , she is so fucking cool. I swear if you don’t get her number by the end of the night I’m going to kill you with my bare hands.”
Dominik just ignored him as he began to back out of the gas station's parking lot with Rhea right behind him.